Tag: corruption

If restaurants are lowering prices as well as closing down due to the new anti-corruption law just how many public servants are being bought off each day with free meals in Seoul?:

The implementation of a controversial anti-corruption law is scaring the retail and restaurant industries, who fear that gifts and free meals will become illegal.

The so-called Kim Young-ran law, named for a former Supreme Court Justice and Chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission who inspired it, was promulgated and signed by President Park Geun-hye in March 2015 and will be implemented from September 28. It forbids people in a range of professions from accepting meals that cost over 30,000 won ($26), gifts valued over 50,000 won and cash payments over 100,000 won.

Public officials fall under the law but also teachers, professors and even journalists. They are considered “public” professions by the lawmakers who passed the bill.

“A lunch menu at our Chinese restaurant is priced at 39,500 won,” said Oh Hee-jin, a manger at the Ritz-Carlton Seoul. “We are looking into lowering this to 30,000 won.”

Lotte Department Store is looking at reducing the size of gift sets to get their price tags below 50,000 won each.

But lowering prices is not a viable option for everyone.

“Hotels are supposed to take pride in providing the best services and food,” said a manager at the Shilla Hotel. “We can’t do that anymore if we start lowering prices on everything.”

Some restaurant owners are closing stores altogether. Some 30 vacant sites in Insa-dong, central Seoul, were once restaurants.

“Since April, restaurants have been closing one after another,” said a real estate agent near Insa-dong. “Restaurant owners used to rent space and pay a 200 million won premium. Now they won’t sign a deal even when I’ve lowered the premium to just 100 million won.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but it is interesting that a private sector employee like a journalist is able to fall under this bill and be considered a public profession.  I am surprised no one in the media has challenged this law yet.

Corruption investigations have led to a large number of Koreans killing themselves to include 15 people so far this year:

The apparent suicide of a researcher after being interrogated about defense corruption is shedding light on prosecutorial investigations that lead to suicides of suspects or witnesses.

A 43-year-old senior researcher, surnamed Kim, who worked at weapons supplier LIG Nex1 was found dead Monday on the ground outside an apartment building in Osan, Gyeonggi. He was living in an apartment on the 23rd floor. The police are investigating how he died.

Kim was questioned by a joint government investigative team on defense ministry corruption led by prosecutors, military prosecutors, the Board of Audit and Inspection and the National Tax Service. Prosecutors suspected his involvement in corruption regarding the development of Hyeongung, a mid-range personal guided missile.  (…….)

According to New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Lee Sang-min, the number of people who committed suicide after being questioned by the prosecution, either as suspects or witnesses, was 79 between 2010 and June this year. Last year, 21 people committed suicide, and 15 died this year up to June.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

I don’t know what’s worse about this story, the victims trying to bribe their way into jobs or the conman who took their money for himself?:

A former Camp Stanley employee was arrested on allegations that he bilked South Koreans out of more than $740,000 in exchange for non-existent base jobs — and enlisted an unwitting U.S. soldier’s help to pull off the scam, South Korean police said.

The man identified by the surname Gang, 54, posed as a high-level base hospital official and convinced 27 people during the past six years to hand him a total of 800 million won, Uiwang Police Station officials told Stars and Stripes.

Gang forged Army documents and took his victims on tours of Yongsan Garrison, Camp Humphreys and other areas to help sell his story, police said.

Gang also convinced a U.S. soldier at Camp Stanley that the victims were prospective employees, then had the soldier interview them by phone to test their English, said Jo Min-chang, of Uiwang’s Economic Crime Investigation Team.

Police said they do not think the soldier knew he was participating in fraud.

Gang worked at Camp Stanley for more than 20 years before being fired last month, Jo said. He had most recently served as an ambulance driver.

When the victims began to complain about employment delays, police say Gang issued forged apology letters that used official Army logos, fonts and style, if not necessarily proper grammar.

“We would like to make an apology for any damage to who are newly employed and promoted because of a conflict between the 8th Army and Korean members of the 8th Army,” one of the letters read, according to a sample obtained from Uiwang police. “We, the 8th Army, are sincerely doing our best to make smooth recovery. And therefore, we would like to wish domestic bliss.”

In other letters, he blamed North Korean nuclear threats and bilateral defense budgets for causing delays, police said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

These are very small amounts of money to be taking to be worth putting an entire military career at risk which leads me to believe that he has probably been doing this for a very long time and saw others doing it as well:

An Army brigadier general was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of taking bribes in exchange for paying favors to his friends’ sons serving mandatory military duty, the defense ministry said.

The general, who currently serves as a vice commander of the country’s Army Corps, allegedly received some 13 million won ($11,989) from five of his friends between 2012 and 2014, who asked him to change their sons’ assignments at the barracks.

“While the general, surnamed Kim, had been trying to peddle his influence, only one of the five was able to be transferred to another position,” a defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

Now the UN Secretary General has been dragged into the corruption probe which is one of the biggest stories of the year in South Korea:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has denied media reports stating that he had an amicable relationship with a late construction tycoon who claimed to have provided money to politicians for years, attempting to distance himself from a snowballing political scandal in his home country.

In an interview on Thursday with Yonhap News Agency shortly after meeting with U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Ban denied alleged ties to Sung Wan-jong.

Shortly before his death, Sung, the former chairman of Keangnam Enterprises and a former lawmaker, said that he had put money into the pockets of top politicians and government officials for years, and also claimed to be one of Ban’s patrons.

“This scandal has nothing to do with me,” Ban told Yonhap News. “I saw him at a few public events, but there was no special relationship.”

“I have no interest in Korean politics, and I don’t have time to pay attention to it,” Ban added. “I have made this position clear in the past, and I am baffled to be facing this situation again.”

Despite Ban’s continued denials that he will begin a political career in Korea after his tenure at the United Nations is complete, speculations have lingered at home that he is being groomed by opposition lawmakers to run in the 2017 presidential race.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but Sung Wan-jong has a long history of bragging about his special relationship with Ban Ki-moon.

It is going to be hard for President Park to launch an anti-corruption campaign in the wake of the Sewol ferry boat tragedy when the people around her that are supposed to implement it are all taking bribes if the allegations are true:

Sung, the chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, died in an apparent suicide after leaving the list.

Although President Park ordered the prosecution to conduct a thorough investigation into the graft scandal, Sunday, Cheong Wa Dae has refrained from commenting on the issue.

In a bid to fight corruption, she vowed again Thursday that anyone who is found to be involved in any illicit activities will face the consequences without exception.

Park’s biggest political hurdle would appear to be the besieged prime minister, because Lee is leading the government’s ambitious anti-corruption campaign.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun, which interviewed Sung hours before his death, reported Tuesday that the businessman said he had given Lee 30 million won ($27,000) during the 2013 by-elections, when Lee ran for a parliamentary seat representing Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province.

Park has set her sights on fighting graft as part of strengthening her control because the April 16, 2014 sinking of the ferry Sewol, which hit her administration hard, was blamed on collusive ties between ferry operators, regulators and politicians.

In addition, Park’s plans to reform the debt-heavy pension system for civil servants and the stiff labor market are also expected to hit a snag amid intensifying political attacks from opposition parties. The processing of economy-related bills pending before the National Assembly is also not on the cards in the short-term.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but I don’t understand why the Korean politicians don’t just legalize bribery and just call it campaign contributions like how the US political system works.

It will be interesting to see where this goes in regards to for example members of the media being covered by this bill even though they are not public servants:

Admitting to hastiness and poor preparation, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle vowed Wednesday to revise the controversial anti-graft law they passed only one day earlier.

The National Assembly Tuesday passed tough anti-corruption legislation after years of debate despite concerns that it would surely face constitutional challenges for its vagueness and overly wide scope.

On Wednesday, even lawmakers who voted the bill into law admitted a need for revisions. “We will listen to all the voices pointing to shortfalls with a humble attitude,” said Rep. Yoo Seong-min, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party who participated in the negotiations with the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) over the law. “During the one and a half years of grace period before it takes effect, we will make necessary modifications.” According to the law, a public official will face criminal punishment for receiving money or favors worth more than 1 million won ($912) even if they are unrelated to his or her job. Beyond bribes, entertainment like expensive meals, golf games and paid vacations is also covered by the law. A wide range of professions including civil servants, legislators, teachers at private schools and employees of media companies are covered because the law considers the nature of their work “public.” Their spouses will also be covered.

In media companies, both journalists and people in non-journalism related jobs will be covered. NPAD Rep. Lee Sang-min, chairman of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, called the law “unconstitutional” and “unreasonable,” promising to make speedy revisions.

“Almost all lawmakers pointed to the law’s problems and they said it seemed unconstitutional,” Lee said in an interview with CBS radio. “The scope of the law was expanded unreasonably to the media and the private sector. The law was too ambiguous and it is destined to create many innocent victims.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the golf course and massage parlors in Korea must be in a panic about now.

It is sad that it took a major tragedy like the sinking of the Sewol to expose just how the corruption of public officials in South Korea had become a major safety hazard:

The National Assembly of South Korea passed an anticorruption law on Tuesday that calls for up to three years in prison for journalists, teachers and public servants who accept single cash donations or gifts valued at more than a million won, or about $910.

Passage of the law signaled a milestone in the country, where bestowing and receiving envelopes of cash and other gifts have long been part of the culture — and a suspected channel of bribery.

In South Korea, businesspeople, politicians and senior government officials often host expensive dinners, send gift sets during holidays and make cash donations at weddings and funerals, making it difficult to determine what amounts to corruption and what should be accepted as part of social etiquette.

Until now, people have been punished for graft only when it was established in court that they had accepted a gift in return for doing a specific favor, like helping the gift-giver obtain a government license or school admission.

Such a stringent legal requirement has raised concerns that much of the corruption in the country has gone unpunished, especially the so-called sponsorship relationships that some businesspeople and politicians were said to maintain with prosecutors, government officials and journalists. Under that arrangement, the “sponsors” would wine and dine the recipients, as well as provide them with financial support, not necessarily for any immediate favor but for long-term collusive ties.

Under the new law, which is to take effect in October 2016, public servants, teachers and journalists will face fines or prison terms of up to three years for taking such gifts exceeding about $910, regardless of whether there is evidence of bribery or influence-peddling.

They will face similar punishment if their spouses receive such gifts from people that involve conflicts of interest. (Those who report their spouse’s gifts to the authorities will be exempt.) Those who receive gifts valued at less than the designated amount may be fined if those gifts involve a conflict of interest.  [New York Times]

You can read more at the link,but I wonder how long before the Korean politicians discover campaign contributions as a way around anti-corruption laws?

You can also read more about this topic over at the Marmot’s Hole.

This is not good for the ROK Navy:

Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted former Navy Chief of Staff Jung Ok-keun over accusations that he took 770 million won ($700,000) in bribes from a local shipbuilding conglomerate when he held the position in 2008.

The 63-year-old was arrested late last month on suspicions that he received kickbacks from two subsidiaries under the now financially crippled STX Corporation through a yachting company, whose majority stakeholder was his 38-year-old son.

Jung’s son was detained a day earlier on charges that he allegedly pocketed money from STX Offshore and Shipbuilding and STX Engine by recording them as sponsors for his yachting event, which was organized in Busan to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Navy’s establishment.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has since been narrowing its investigation into whether Jung could have benefited from his eldest son’s business dealings.

Jung’s son and his business partner at the time, a former Navy colonel surnamed Yoo, were also indicted on Tuesday for contributing to the bribery, as was a former Navy operations commander surnamed Yoon, who is the non-executive director of STX.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but it makes you wonder how many other people have been getting these huge bribes?

I wonder if there is more to this story that just went down to the bottom of the Han River:

A former Navy rear admiral under investigation over his alleged involvement in a defense industry graft case jumped off a bridge in a Seoul suburb on Wednesday, police said.

The Gyeonggi Goyang Police Station said an unidentified person called at 8:10 a.m. to say the 61-year-old man, identified only by his surname Ham, plunged off the bridge over the Han River that flows through Seoul into the Yellow Sea.

Ham, also a former executive member of a defense firm, was scheduled to face questioning this morning. Prosecutors said they considered him a witness, rather than a suspect.

The details of the case he was involved in were not immediately clear. He was once in charge of the Navy’s shipbuilding division.

“We send our condolences to the bereaved family for this tragedy,” an official investigating the case said, asking not to be named. “Ham never complained about the interrogation process and we’re confident we’ve followed the proper protocol.”

Police said they discovered a car, a suicide note and a pair of shoes near the scene. Professional divers have been deployed to search for the body, they said.

In November, South Korea launched a task force comprised of prosecutors, military officers and government officials to root out corruption in the defense industry.

The move came after an expensive homegrown salvage ship was proved defective at the peak of efforts to save those missing from a ferry disaster last year. The sinking claimed more than 300 lives.  [Yonhap]